Sindh Community Mobilization Program (CMP) organized “International Day of the Girl Child” celebrations in all CMP districts including Dadu, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Khairpur, Karachi, Larkana, Qamber Shahdadkot and Sukkur.
View a video highlighting the event below:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2B1aAKpJR0[/embedyt]
To raise awareness on child marriage and the dropout of girls in secondary classes, various activities and events were planned wherein speakers highlighted issues being faced by girls. Over 2,000 females and nearly 600 males participated in the 13 organized events.
CMP field teams organized events with a special focus on the prevention of child marriage and the dropout of girls in secondary classes. Activities also included art and drawing competitions, quiz competitions, theater and role play on the dropout of girls and early child marriage, poetry recitals, and focus group discussions between children and parents on the challenges girls face and the reasons they drop out of school.During CMP’s gender mainstreaming journey, child marriage has been identified as one of the major hindrances to girls’ education, leading a majority of girls to dropout before completing their secondary education. Global facts and figures indicate a similar trend. CMP is working to increase the enrollment of girls, and trying to address the many issues girls face through various school and community based activities. By celebrating International Day of the Girl Child, CMP created awareness on the rights of adolescent girls in targeted schools and communities.
Activities were planned in close coordination with CMP implementing partners in the targeted districts. The schools with the highest rates of girl dropouts were selected to host the celebrations. Field teams involved the community and parents in different activities to support and encourage students and children.
District education management officials were invited as guest speakers to share government initiatives that relate specifically to girl students. Besides parents and teachers, school management committees were also invited to be part of the celebrations and they were engaged in the planning of activities for the event.
RELATED READING:
Sindh Community Mobilization Program
CMP Students Shine at Intel Science Fair
